Sewing machine attachment



y 1953 R. T. cozART, JR 2,638,067

SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT Filed Dec. 9, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VE NTOR ROBERT T, C m P JR 0mm 2 m, o6 rwan+dmnnnu 2; as? a: arrow/2Y8 May12, 1953 R. T. COZART, JR ,0

SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT Filed Dec. 9, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /NVENTORPOBERT T COZHRT, J/a.

29mm, 55 2231:- Rafi/rum 4- dmn/mu HTTORNE Y5 y 12, 95 R. T. COZART, JR

SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 9, 1947 awe/M01;ROBERT 7f COZHRZ JR:

$21 dr/mmaq, feepnz, Roman zflmww HTTOENEYS Patented May 12, 1953 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 2,638,067 SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT Robert Toombscozart, Jr.-,- Goldsboro; N. o. ApplicationDecelnber 9, 1947, SerialNo.790,476

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an attachment for sewing machines and morespecifically to an attachment to aid in the sewing of elastic tape inwaist bands of garments.

The usual procedure in sewing elastic tapes waist bands is for theoperator of a sewing machine to hold the material and the elastic tapetogether in a stretched condition and sew the tape and the material inrelatively short sections. The sewing operation is frequentlyinterrupted as the operator changes her grip on the garment to sew thetape completely around the waist band. The frequent interruptions makeit extremely diiiil cult to form a straight seam around the garment.Another disadvantage is that the oontinualstretching or the material andthe elastic tape causes considerable operator fatigue. Moreover itis notpossible to' maintain the elastic in a uniformly stretched conditionwhen ashort section of the waist band is sewed at one time.

Eilorts heretofore made to overcome the objections to the operatorstretching a series of short sections of the waist band and holding thematerial in the stretched condition while the elastic tape is sewed tothe material have generally required a special sewing machine. Becauseof the numerous general purpose machines now in use and their longperiod of satisfactory use, it is desirable to provide" anattachment'which will'aid in the sewing of elastic bands to garmentswhich maybe installed" on existing general purpose sewing machines.

It is an object of this invention top'rovide an attachment for a sewingmachineand a method I of constructing waist bands which will greatlyincrease therateat which an operator can form waist bands" containingelastic tape on' garments. Another object or" this invention is toprovide a method and apparatus for formingwaistbands which will greatlylessen operator fatigue.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an attachment forrunning tape in a waist band which may be installed on; all generalpurpose domestic or industrial machines" com monly in use.

A further object of this lnvention is to provide an attachment whichWilla-id in the, construction of elastic waist hands in whichtheelasticj tape is under a uniform hand is stretched.

Still anotherflobjectis to provide an attach ment which" willrallow thesewing of straight seams as'the elasticytape issecur'ed in the waistband of a garment.

tension when the waist With these and other objects in mind which willbecome apparent in the detailed description of the invention following,this invention resides in an 'elcngated; arm extending substantiallyparallel tofthe line of feed of a sewing machine and her protruding fromthe ends of the arm substan alivfiperpendicular thereto. The elastictape any. garment in which the waist band is to be ;..tructed isstretched over the horns which he i 'je material under a uniform tensionin position ior feeding to the sewing. machine. This inventio furthercontemplates a new method or r g a waist band.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view oi" a sewing machine on which theattachment of this inve'ntion has been installed.

Figure 2 is an end'. perspective view of the sewing machine illustratedin Figure l.

/ Figure 3 is a detailed perspective view of the feed plate, presser barand presser foot of the sewing'machine on which a guard forming part ofthis invention has been installed.

Figure 4' is a detailed plan" view of the sewing machineattachmentillustrated in. Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a plan View partially in. section of a modification of aneleinentioi this invention.

Figure sis a section uses silient cons uc ion of the attachment.

Figure is sectional view along the line 1-? in Figure 4.

Figure8'is a vertical sectional view taken along showing the first stepin themethod of'inserture 11.

pleted waist band prepared according to this ing the tapeaccording'to'this invention;

Figure 11 is alsoa perspective view somewhat diagrammatic in natureshowing in the formation of the waist band.

Figure l2is a perspective viewillustrating the final step'in theformation of the waist band according in this invention.

Figure 13is acrosssectional view of the waist stage illustrated in Fiband structure at the 'Figurele is a crosssectional view of the comasectionaluview, along the; gur'e l, illustrating the rediagrammaticperspective view a further step table and on which a housing l ismounted. A

gooseneck 5 extends from one side of the upper end of housing 4 andjoins a head 6 in which is located the mechanism for actuating theneedle I. A fly wheel 8 is provided at the upper end of the housing 4 onthe side opposite the gooseneck for imparting a uniform rate of movementto the machine. A presser bar 9 extends from the lower end of head 6 andsupports a presser foot :9 which engages the feed mechanism H in thework plate 12 of the machine. The above mentioned elements of themachine are conventional parts of the ordinary sewing machines and donot form a part of this invention.

A bracket [3 is secured to the base plate 3 of the machine below thehead 6 near the work plate i 2. Bracket [3 serves as a mounting for anarm 14 extending substantially parallel to the line of feed of thesewing machine. Horns l5 and I6 extend from the rear and forward ends ofthe arm M, respectively, toward the line of feed of the machine for thereception of the garment in which the waist band is to be constructed.

Referring to Figure 4, bracket i3 is shown attached to base plate 3 by apair of screws I! and 5;

over arm I4 to hold it rigidly in place and are provided with screws 22and 23 to allow them to be tightened,

In the preferred form of the attachment illustrated in Figure 4, arm 14consists of a central sleeve portion 24 which is clamped in bracket i3;t-'

and is of tubular construction at the end sections 25 and 26 for thereception of rods 21 and 23, respectively. Rod 21 is drilled and tappedat 29 for the reception of a bolt 30. Bolt 30 passes through a slot 3|,similar to the slot 35, in the section 25 of sleeve 24 and locks againstthe sleeve to hold rod 21' firmly in position. By loosening bolt 30 rod21 may be slid to the de sired position and then looked firmly in placeby tightening the bolt. For convenience the section 25 of the sleeve maybe calibrated as indicated at 32 to indicate the size of the garment forwhich the attachment is set.

Ordinarily section 26 and rod 28 will extend considerably farthertowards the rear of the sewing machine than section 25 and rod 21 extendtowards the front. This construction allows the operator of the machineconveniently to work close to the needle of the machine withoutinterference by the horn Hi. It is preferred that the adjustable andcalibrated features provided by bolt and calibrations 32 be on thesection of the arm extending towards the front of the machinetofacilitate adjustment of the attachment.

Rod 28 is drilled and tapped at 33 for the reception of a pin 34 whichextends from the surface of the rod through a slot 35 in the sleeve 24.Pin 34 bears against the ends 3% and 37 of the slot 35 to limit themovement of rod 28 relative to the sleeve. A plug 33 is inserted in thesection 25 of the sleeve between the end of the rod 28 and the bracket13. The movement of plug 38 towards the center of the sleeve isprohibited by a pin 39 passing through the sleeve. Between the outer endof plug 38 and the inner end of rod 28 is a compressed helical spring 40Which continually urges rod 28 outward. When the attachment is not inuse spring 40 will force rod 28 to the position indicated in Figure 6 inwhich the pin 34 bears against the outer end 36 of slot 35. When agarment is in place over the horns l5 and i6, spring 48 is slightlycompressed, thereby holding the garment in a stretched condition.

Horns i5 and. it extend from the ends of the rods 21 and 23 toward theline of feed of the sewing machine. The garment to which the waist bandis to be attached fits over the horns and is held thereon in. astretched condition. The horns should be long enough to extend beyondthe line of the feed of the machine to allow the garment to be supportedon the horns and still move in a straight line from the front horn 16,past the needle, to the rear horn 15 as the tape is sewed to thegarment. Ordinarily there will be atendency for the garment to slide offthe end of the horns because the upper run of the garment is heldoutside of the needle I of the machine. The horns are, therefore,preferably constructed at a. slightly obtuse angle with the arm M asshown in Figure 15. The exact angle required to hold the garment on thehorns l5 and I6 is a matter of experiment. Horns l5 and It are alsoequipped with shoulders 41 and 42 and knobs 43 to hold the garment inthe proper position on the horns.

A modification of the horns l5 and I8 is shown in Figure 5 of thedrawings. In this modification the horns are formed by a shaft 44 of reduced diameter on which a washer 45 rotatably fits. A sleeve 46 isrotatably mounted on the shaft 44. A second washer 41 is installed atthe outer end of the shaft 44 and the sleeve 46. The end of shaft 44 isdrilled and tapped for the reception of a screw 43' which holds washer4'! in place. The modification of the invention illustrated in Figure 5provides an attachment with freely rotating horns. This structure willfacilitate moving the garment as the waist band is being constructed. Incertain instances it may be desirable to insert needle bearings betweenthe sleeve 46 and the shaft 44, or in some instances, sleeve 46 may bemotor driven.

Referring to Figure 3, a guard 49 is attached to the presser bar 9 by ascrew 50. Guard 49 serves as a shield around the needle to prevent itfrom becoming entangled with the upper run of a loop of the garment asthe waist band is attached on the lower run. In many instances it willbe desirable to have the shield somewhat bell-shaped to present aconcave outer surface urging the upper run of the garment to which thewaist band is being attached upward to hold it clear of the lower run.

The operation of the attachment of this invention may best be understoodby referring to Figures 10, 11 and 12 in which the apparatus of thisinvention is schematically illustrated. The arm [4 i adjusted to locatethe horns l5 and IS the proper distance apart to hold a loop of thegarment in a stretched condition. Anelastic tape tightness with whichthe garment is to'fit. Tape 5iv is stretched over the horns l5 and |6asindisated inl igure l; Theedge 52 0f thegarment 53 in. which the waistbandis to be installed is slid over the horns until edge 52 extends:past the outer edge 540i the tape Edge 52. of the garmentis foldedoverthe outer edge 56 oi the tape 5| along the lower run 55. The upper run56 of the endless tapeand 51 of the garment 53 are folded back towardthe ends of the horns and engage the outer surface of guard 49surrounding the needle I of the sewing machine. The machine is startedand the edge 52 is stitched at 59. tothe lower run of the tape. The:operator guides the lower run of the tape with the edge 5210f thegarment into the stitching mechanism. In most cases the feedingmechanism of the macliinewill move the earment over the horns to allowthe machine to operate continuously until the tape is stitched to. thegarment its full length. In any event, the operator has one hand free tohelp feed the materialto the machine. Thestitchingsfis hold the materialof the garment securely against both faces of v the tape.

The garment and the tape are removed from the. horns after the.stitching at 59' is completed over the full length of the tape. The edgeof the garment. and the tape. are now reversed by folding. the. garment.inwardly over the inner edge 6% of the tape which completely encases itwith the material of the garment '53. The garment is now replaced overthe horns I5 and i6 and the upper run. of the tape and material of thegarment are folded back along the outer surface of the guard 49, and asecond row of stitches 8| is run adjacent the line of stitches 59.Stitches 61 completely close the waist band with the elastic securedtherein in a uniformly stretched condition.

The tape running attachmentherein described facilitates the constructionof Waist bands having an elastic tape under. a uniform tension therein.The attachmenteliminates' the necessity of the operator making thegarments holding the elastic tape in a stretched condition as the"elastic is stitched to the garment. Since the operator has both handsfree to guide the materialas' it, passes the needle of the sewingmachine, the workmanship on the garments is improved. Moreover, thereduced fatigue of the operator results in an important increase in therate atwhich they can construct the waist bands.

The attachment herein described may be installed on any of theconventional, domestic and industrial sewing machines of the generalpurpose type wherein the base plate is inset in the table and its uppersurface lies substantially yfiush with the surface of the table. Bystitching along the lower run of the loop of material, the

necessity of a special machineallowing thelower loop of the garmenttopass under the base of the machine isobviated.

vA novel method of constructing a Waist band having a tape stitchedtherein has been described which requires a minimum of steps for theformation of the band. The waist band structure herein describedcompletely encloses the tape with the materialof the garment to form ahighly satisfactory garment. The reducwithin the sleeve tioninqthe stepsrequired for: the formation-ct the waist band increases the rate atwhich an operator isable to producezthe bands.

While the preferred modification of this inven tion has been describedin detailrit' iscto be un derstood that the: concept of theainventionistnot limited to those detailsglvbut 'i-alls witliin; the scope of theappcndedclaimsi I claim: 1-. A tape running attachment for sewingmachine comprising an arm :supported above; the: base of the machineparallelto the line of. feed of the machine; said arm comprising a.central:

sleeve, a first rod and a second: rod slldablewin said central sleeveand: extending. fromxopposit'e" ends thereof, a slot in thecentralsleeve-adjacent the first. rod, a bolt screwed into the first rodextending" through: the. slot and engagingthe sleeve to lockthefirstrodinthe desired position, a second slot in the centralsleeve-addacent the" second rod,.a pin attachedtto thessecond -rodexitending through: tl'u-rsecond. slot, resilient means within thesleeve urging the second rod outwardlytowards'the end of thesleeve,saidresilientmeans including, a spring compressed: between theend.

of the second rod and atstop within the sleeve, the pin engagingthe endof the" second slot-to limit. the movement of: the. second. rod, and! ahorn extending from eachen'dof. the arm bcyondthe line of feed ofthemachinel 2. A tape running attachment-for asewin'g machine comprisinga bracket attached to the base of the machine. under the head ofthe-machine,

an arm supported in the bracket parallel tothe" line of feed of themachine, saidarmcomprisi-ng a central sleeve, a firstrod' andasecondrod-slidable in said central sleeve andextending fromopposite'ends thereof, e slot inthe central? sleeve adjacent the firstrod; a bolt screwed. int-"o the rod extending through the slot andengaging the sleeve to lock the-first rodinthe desired posi tion, asecond slot in the central sleeve adjacent a pin attached to the secondred the second rod, extending through thesecond slot, resilient meansthe pin engaging theend of the" second" slotto limit the movement of thesecond rod, anda horn extending from each end o'f-the armlo'eyond theline of feed of the machine, ,and mean'shdjustabl attaching the'bracketto the, base or: the machine to allow adjustment-oi the bracket in adirectionperpendicular to the'line ojv fe ed oi the machine.

3. In a sewing machine having a-table and a base plate set therein andsubstantially flush therewith, a tape running attachment comprising anarm parallel to theline of feed of the machine secured above the base ofthe machine, a horn extending substantially horizontally from each endof the arm beyond the line of feed to receive a stretch of a garment andtape and hold it in an extendedposition in the line of feed, said hornextending at an obtuse angle from the arm,

urging the second r'o'd outwardly arm toward the line of feed andsubstantially parallel with the base plate, said horns adapted to hold aloop of the material and an endless band of tape in an extendedcondition thereover in said line of feed, a guard surrounding at leastone side of the needle of the machine to engage the upper stretches ofsaid loop of material and band of tape and hold the same out of the pathof movement of the needle while the needle is stitching the lowerstretches of tape and material together, and said horns forming obtuseangles with the arm and diverging from the arm to counteract thetendency of movement of the lower stretch of the material and tape fromthe line of feed occasioned by the engagement of the upper stretch withthe guard.

5. A sewing machine attachment for sewing an endless tape to a loop ofmaterial comprising an elongated member formed of a central sleeve and arod slidable therein and extending from one end thereof, a horn carriedby the central sleeve and extending laterally therefrom, a second horncarried by the rod at the end thereof projecting from the sleeve, saidhorns lying substantially in thesame plane and adapted to be insertedinto the loop of material and tape, spring means intel-posed betweensaid sleeve and rod and yieldingly urging the rod outwardly toward theend of the sleeve to maintain said horns in spaced relation and to holdthe loop of material and tape in a stretched condition while sewing thetape to the material, and means for attaching said elongated member tothe sewing machine with the central sleeve thereof extending parallel tothe line of feed of the machine and said horns intersecting the planecontaining the needle of the machine and the line of feed of themachine.

6. A sewing machine attachment for sewing an endl ss tape to a loop ofmaterial comprising an elongated member formed of a central sleeve and arod slidable therein and extending from one end thereof, a horn carriedby the central sleeve and extending laterally therefrom, a second horncarried by the rod at the end thereof projecting from the sleeve, saidhorns lying substantially in the same plane and adapted to be insertedinto the loop of material and tape, spring means interposed between saidsleeve and rod and yieldingly urging the rod outwardly toward the end ofthe sleeve to maintain said home in spaced relation and to hold the loopof material and tape in a stretched condition while sewin the tape tothe material, and means for attaching said elongated member to thesewing machine with the central sleeve thereof extending :parallel tothe line of feed of the machine and said horns intersecting the planecontaining the needle of the machine and the line of feed of themachine, and a stationary guard spaced about the needle to hold theupper stretch of said loop of material and tape away from the needle asthe lower run of tape is stitched to the lower run of the material.

'7. A sewing machine attachment for sewing an endless tape to a loop ofmaterial comprising an elongated member formed of a central sleeve and arod slidable therein and extending from one end thereof, an elongatedroller rotatably journalled on the central sleeve and extendinglaterally therefrom, a second elongated roller rotatably journalled. onthe rod at the end thereof pro jecting from the sleeve and extendinglaterally therefrom, the rotational axes of said rollers lyingsubstantially in the same plane, said rollers adapted to be insertedinto the loop of material and tape, spring means interposed between saidsleeve and rod and yieldingly urging the rod outwardly toward the end ofthe sleeve to maintain said rollers in spaced relation and to hold theloop of material and tape in a stretched condition while sewing the tapeof the material, and means for attaching said elongated member to thesewing machine with the central sleeve thereof extending parallel to theline of feed of the machine and said rollers intersecting the planecontaining the needle of the machine and the line of feed of themachine.

ROBERT TOOMBS COZART, JR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,231,542 Weis June 26, 1917 1,453,506 Kershner May 1, 19231,857,058 Maier May 3, 1932 2,074,929 Martin Mar. 23, 1937 2,175,030Rosenfielcl Oct. 3, 1939

